A sharp fall in Spanish citrus export volumes is being cited as a reason behind a drop of 13.3 per cent in the country’s overall fruit exports during the first eight months of 2008 compared with the same period a year before.
According to newly-released figures from Spanish producer-exporter association Fepex, total fruit exports between January to July this year fell to just over 3m tonnes as a result of the slump in citrus shipments.
Some of the most striking falls were seen in lemon export volumes, which dropped by 46 per cent to 188,507 tonnes, and mandarins, which fell by 32 per cent to 532,674 tonnes. Orange exports also dropped by 17 per cent to 911,886 tonnes compared with the same stage a year before.
The fall in citrus export volumes was accompanied by a major increase in fruit imports to Spain during the eight months. Fepex revealed that lemon imports in particular soared by 338 per cent to an estimated 53,3912 tonnes, while overall fruit imports rose by 13.7 per cent to 761,228 tonnes.
Despite the poor citrus figures, the association stressed that other Spanish fruit sectors fared considerably better during the eight months. Excluding citrus, Fepex said other fruit export volumes increased by 12.4 per cent, with stonefruit exports in particular rising by 22 per cent compared with a same period of 2006 to 417,736 tonnes.
Total vegetable exports volumes also increased by 11 per cent to 2.7m tonnes over the first eight months of 2007, with substantial export rises recorded for tomatoes (12 per cent), lettuce (11.5 per cent) and peppers (26 per cent).
